Lead - Compensation, Benefits & Payroll

Amberstudent; Pune District; On-site; INR 3,600,000 - 6,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Amber is seeking a Lead - Compensation & Benefits to manage payroll operations, compliance, and benefits administration for a growing global workforce. The role focuses on benchmarking, governance, and scalable compensation practices across the organization.

The candidate should bring deep knowledge of Indian payroll laws, strong analytical abilities, and experience with payroll systems and HRMS platforms, supporting a high-growth startup environment.

Qualifications

• 5–8 years of experience in Compensation & Benefits, Payroll, or HR Operations.
• Strong knowledge of Indian payroll processes and statutory compliance.
• Hands-on experience with payroll systems, HRMS platforms, and compensation structures.

Responsibilities

• Drive compensation benchmarking and salary structure management across teams.
• Support annual compensation reviews, increments, promotions, and bonus cycles.
• Manage employee benefits programs, including insurance, wellness initiatives, reimbursements, and vendor coordination.
• Ensure competitive and compliant compensation practices aligned with market standards.
• Own end-to-end payroll processing with high accuracy and adherence to timelines.
• Coordinate with payroll vendors and finance teams for salary processing.
• Validate payroll inputs including incentives, variable pay, reimbursements, and statutory deductions.
• Ensure payroll data accuracy and audit readiness.
• Ensure adherence to labor laws and statutory regulations, including PF, ESIC, PT, gratuity, TDS, and other compliance requirements.
• Maintain employee records and documentation; manage audits and statutory reporting.
• Stay updated on evolving labor laws and recommend process improvements.
• Build scalable compensation and payroll processes; drive automation and efficiency.
• Collaborate with HRBPs, Finance, Legal, and leadership on policy implementation and workforce planning.
• Generate MIS reports, compensation analytics, and dashboards for leadership.

Skills

Analytical skills

Problem-solving

Stakeholder management

Advanced Excel

Reporting

Payroll systems experience

HRMS platforms

Compensation structures

Education

MBA / PGDM in HR or Finance

Tools

Payroll systems

HRMS platforms

Job description

Amber is a leading global student accommodation platform, helping students worldwide find and book long-term housing near their universities. With operations across multiple geographies, Amber is building a high-performance, people-first organization focused on scale, compliance, and employee experience.

Role Overview

We are looking for a detail-oriented and process-driven Lead - Compensation & Benefits to manage and strengthen Amber’s compensation, payroll, benefits, and compliance framework.

This role will play a critical part in ensuring accurate payroll operations, statutory compliance, employee benefits administration, and scalable compensation practices across the organization.

The ideal candidate should have strong expertise in payroll governance, labor law compliance, compensation benchmarking, and employee benefits administration. Exposure to global payroll and compliance processes will be an added advantage.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive compensation benchmarking and salary structure management across teams.
• Support annual compensation reviews, increments, promotions, and bonus cycles.
• Manage employee benefits programs, including insurance, wellness initiatives, reimbursements, and vendor coordination.
• Ensure competitive and compliant compensation practices aligned with market standards.

Payroll Management

• Own end-to-end payroll processing with high accuracy and adherence to timelines.
• Coordinate with payroll vendors and finance teams for smooth salary processing.
• Validate payroll inputs, including incentives, variable pay, reimbursements, full-and-final settlements, and statutory deductions.
• Ensure payroll data accuracy, confidentiality, and audit readiness.

Compliance & Governance

• Ensure adherence to labor laws and statutory regulations, including PF, ESIC, PT, gratuity, TDS, and other compliance requirements.
• Maintain employee records and documentation in line with compliance standards.
• Manage audits, inspections, and statutory reporting requirements.
• Stay updated on evolving labor laws and recommend process improvements accordingly.

Process Excellence

• Build scalable compensation and payroll processes to support organizational growth.
• Improve HR operations efficiency through automation and process optimization.
• Collaborate with HRBPs, Finance, Legal, and leadership teams on policy implementation and workforce planning.
• Generate MIS reports, compensation analytics, and dashboards for leadership review.

Requirements

• 5-8 years of experience in Compensation & Benefits, Payroll, or HR Operations.
• Strong understanding of Indian payroll processes and statutory compliance.
• Hands-on experience with payroll systems, HRMS platforms, and compensation structures.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and stakeholder management skills.
• High attention to detail and process orientation.
• Advanced Excel and reporting capabilities.
• Exposure to global payroll, international compliance, or multi-country benefits management is a strong advantage.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA / PGDM in HR, Finance, or a related field.
• Experience working in fast-paced startups or high-growth environments.
• Knowledge of HR automation tools and payroll integrations.

Why Join Amber?

• Opportunity to work in a fast-scaling global organization.
• High ownership and exposure to strategic HR initiatives.
• Collaborative, performance-driven, and entrepreneurial culture.
• Opportunity to build and scale compensation, payroll, and compliance frameworks globally.